Current Members of the Bristol Historic District Commission

Clay Dingman,Chair, term ends 2011
Clay serves as the Historic District Commissionâ€™s representative to the Planning Board. He has been a member of the Planning Board since 2004 and of the Historic District Commission since its formation in 2006.

Clay owns a local communications/graphic design firm that specializes in visual identity design.

Clay has been a long-time proponent of historic preservation, beginning with a stint at the Smithsonianâ€™s Museum of American History in 1984, and most recently as he and his wife spent several years rehabilitating their 1904 Victorian home in Bristol after moving there in 2002.

Larry Douglas,Vice Chair, term ends 2013
Larry has served as the vice chair of the Historic District Commission since its inception. He also has held the position of Moderator for the Town of Bristol.

Recently retired from a career in higher education, Larry holds a PhD in American history from Syracuse University.

Larry’s teaching experience ranges from elementary through the graduate level in American history as well as MBA courses in management and leadership. He also has administrative experience as a department head and associate dean. Larry currently presents programs around the state dealing with various aspects of American history (e.g., the depression, World War Two, the Fifties) for the New Hampshire Council on the Humanities.

Larry is retired from the United States Navy with the rank of Captain. He served on submarines in the 1950s and was recalled to active duty during Operation Desert Storm to serve as a naval historian and was assigned as the acting Command Historian for General Schwarzkopf and the United States Central Command at McDill AFB in Florida and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Larry’s long-term interest in historic preservation is reflected in his ownership of two historic homes, both of which are over 150 years old.

Donald Milbrand,Selectboard Representative, term ends 2011
Don serves as the Historic District Commissionâ€™s representative to the Bristol Board of Selectmen. He was a member of the Planning Board from 2005 to 2008. He was elected to the Selectboard in 2008 and served as the Selectman representative to the Planning board in 2008 and 2009, before switching to become Selectboard representative to the Historic District Commission in 2010.

Don is a mechanical engineer for Amphenol, a manufacturer of electrical connectors. In combination of professional training and personal interest he is well versed in the knowledge and skills of structural as well as machine building.

Don was born and raised in a small town in the Anthracite region of Pennsylvania. From this, Don has always had an interest in historic structures, machinery, and ways of life. He is a strong proponent of the preservation of historic areas. He and his wife are currently rehabilitating their circa-1800 farm house and inn.

Dorcas Gordon,Member, term ends 2011
Dorcas has been a member of the Town of Bristolâ€™s Historic District Commission since its formation in 2006. Dorcas is also an elected member of Bristolâ€™s Budget Committee, which position she has held since 2004.

Dorcas is an attorney, and maintains a general practice with a ten-attorney law firm in New Hampshireâ€™s Lakes Region. A portion of Dorcasâ€™s legal work involves municipal law and local land use and planning.

Dorcas is a native of Bristol, growing up in an historic brick house in Bristolâ€™s downtown. Since graduation from law school in 2003, Dorcas and her husband have lovingly rehabilitated a clapboard cape-style house in Bristolâ€™s downtown next to her familyâ€™s house.

Sandra Heaney,Member, term ends 2012
Sandra has some experience in Land Use and served for six years on Bristolâ€™s Zoning Board. She has been a member of the Historic District Commission since its formation in 2006.
Sandra owns an historic bed and breakfast located in downtown Bristol and has spent over eight years performing a sympathetic restoration retaining the historic features of the 1904 building, including researching current materials which can be substituted when restoring historic properties. The property was listed on the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Sandra has been a member of the Natural Trust for Historic Preservation for eight years and holds a degree in Marketing.